The Designing for Sale Story

Real estate agents with interior design backgrounds let prospective buyers visualize a home’s full potential by preparing and displaying space plans, color palettes, design boards and renderings that make the most out of any property.

Like most home buyers, Jason and Cheryl knew exactly what they wanted: a big, bright modern kitchen with a built-in home office and casual dining space. Cheryl dreamed of being able to prepare dinner while keeping an eye on the kids during homework time. Jason hoped for a place he could go online to check news and sports headlines without pulling himself away from the rest of the family.

But there was a major stumbling block. Most of the houses they saw had dark, cramped kitchens with no space for the features they wanted. After months of searching, Jason and Cheryl were ready to give up.

There’s hope yet for people like Jason and Cheryl: a new breed of real estate agents who use their interior design backgrounds to help prospective buyers visualize a property’s full potential.

Jeanne Bemis, a licensed real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Bain Associates in Seattle and a member of the American Society of Interior Designers, realized how valuable her design experience could be when she listed a property that had a small, dated kitchen. Bemis could see that the kitchen was turning people off – it simply didn’t have what most prospective buyers were looking for. “Sometimes it’s hard for people to see beyond avocado green laminate countertops,” laughs Bemis, an expert in kitchen remodeling projects.

At the request of the seller, she created a series of design boards to show how to remodel the kitchen and dining room, along with a small adjacent bedroom, into a comfortable and airy contemporary space. On the same day the boards were displayed at an open house, the property sold for more than the asking price.

“So often buyers know just what they want, but if a property doesn’t exactly match their expectations, they have trouble visualizing how to make it work. An agent with design experience can see the potential of a space and bring that vision to life with plans, sketches, color schemes and material samples,” says Bemis, founder of Designing For Sale, a nationwide network of agents such as herself who have strong backgrounds in design..

While such services as home staging are critical to showcasing properties in their most appealing way, sometimes it takes more than staging to give prospective buyers the ability to see a home’s full potential. “Certainly a beautifully staged home can make a huge difference in the way people respond to a property,” says Bemis. “But a problem area, such as an old-fashioned master bath, can be a stumbling block to finding a buyer. A handsome design board showing people how great the bathroom could look with a few modifications can turn a liability into an asset.”

Designing for Sale members offer the full spectrum of real estate services to their clients, and also tap into their design expertise to provide:

• Property analysis to determine whether the home for sale can be enhanced or remodeled to meet the needs and expectations of prospective buyers

• Staging services to showcase a home in the most effective and attractive way possible

• Design boards, floor plans, and other materials to let buyers “see” the full potential of a home

• Resources such as contractors, manufacturers, suppliers and installers so that buyers have confidence that an extensive remodeling project is possible

• Thorough knowledge of design trends, remodeling estimates and more from the perspectives of both a real estate agent and an interior designer

• Alternative financing options so that buyers can fund remodeling projects at the time of purchase

“It’s gratifying to me when I can help someone look past the flaws of a home and ‘see’ the potential,” says Bemis. “Suddenly their eyes light up as they visualize the space from my point of view. Imaginations sometimes need a little encouragement. It’s great to be able to do that.”

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Jeanne Bemis, MBA, ASID, is a licensed real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Bain Associates in Seattle, Washington, and an allied member of the American Society of Interior Designers. She is the founder of Designing for Sale, a nationwide network of licensed real estate agents with professional backgrounds in interior design.

To contact Ms. Bemis, please call (206) 856-6193 or email jeannebemis@cbbain.com.